Work

The political dimensions of rewilding preference

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Rewilding is increasingly recognized in Europe as a strategy for ecological restoration. However, there has been limited study of the socio-political dimensions of rewilding projects, particularly how political affiliation may influence preferences for rewilding. Given the turbulent European political landscape and significant new environmental legislation, such as the European Green Deal and Nature Restoration Regulation, understanding the interaction between politics and rewilding preferences is critical. We employed a discrete choice experiment approach to assess the impact of political ideology on respondents' willingness to pay for rewilding interventions in the Oder Delta, which spans evenly across Germany and Poland. Our findings indicate that politics is a major driver of rewilding preferences in both countries, and while rewilding is favored across party lines, the extent of preference is often aligned with the left-right political spectrum.

Source: iScience

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113349

Authors: Marek Giergiczny, Rowan Dunn-Capper, Wiktor Budziński, Nestor Fernandez, Henrique M. Pereira

Institutions: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, University of Warsaw, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Universidade do Porto, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos

Language: English

Topic: Economic and Environmental Valuation

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,240